This invention relates to changeable copyboard display systems and more particularly to apparatus for mounting changeable flat display characters to a copyboard.
In a co-pending application of Wilfried Schubert, U.S. Ser. No. 398,074, filed Sept. 17, 1973 and assigned to the same assignee here, there is presented as background to the invention therein set forth, the various types of most commonly used changeable copyboard systems. Briefly, reference may be made to U.S. Pat. No. 2,270,711 in which the block characters contain slots for mounting on hanger bars; U.S. Pat. No. 2,956,360 disclosing block characters with metal or plastic clips for mounting on hanger bars; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,407,525 and 3,531,884 which disclose a flat changeable display character inserted between and held by a slotted top and bottom track.
The aforementioned prior art relates to changeable display character systems using the Latin alphabet and wherein the Latin alphabet characters are read horizontally from the top-left corner of the display horizontally across from left to right continuing down the display to the bottom-right corner of the display. However, Chinese, Japanese and other Oriental languages use characters rather than an alphabet. Such Oriental characters could easily be confused by horizontal or vertical opaque or semi-opaque hanging bars of the prior art changeable copyboard systems. In addition, since in the Oriental languages the characters are read vertically from the bottom-right corner of the display vertically upward and from bottom to top continuing to the top-left corner of the display, the Oriental characters could not be conveniently mounted in position or maintained in their desired spacial position in such horizontally oriented prior art systems. Furthermore, should a horizontal hanging bar of the prior art system traverse behind an internally illuminated Oriental character, the character could easily assume an entirely different meaning in the Oriental language.